


May the Darkness Be Merciful

by schwertlilie



Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Alternate Universe - Black Jewels Fusion, Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-26
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:21:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22414666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/schwertlilie/pseuds/schwertlilie
Summary: Being a half-demon in a world of magical humans isn't any easier than in a world without, but at least here the sons of Sparda have plausible excuses for their powers.(Related drabbles/ficlets from a DMC + Black Jewels fusion AU; each chapter is self-contained.)
Kudos: 10





	May the Darkness Be Merciful

**Author's Note:**

> I admit this is niche, but lbr: Devil May Cry and the Black Jewels both focus on special, overpowered wish-fulfillment characters, this is a match made in Hell. 
> 
> For the unfamiliar, The Black Jewels is a fabulously iddy fantasy series by Anne Bishop where women are rightful rulers, alpha men want a worthy woman to serve & protect, and power can be both a gift & a curse. In a sorta-alternate 20th century, people are divided into the Blood, who have magic (Craft), and Landen, who do not. The Blood are further divided by their inherent power & temperament into [Jewel ranks & castes](https://www.annebishop.com/s.black.jewels.castes.html), respectively. The Blood (usually) carry Jewels they acquire in a pair of mysterious ceremonies; the Jewels serve as a magic reservoir & focus, and their colour reflects the power of the person who carries them. "The Darkness" is revered, thus the darker the Jewel the more powerful the person who uses it.
> 
> Since this is a fusion AU, I'm taking castes, magic, and Jewels and plonking them into DMC's setting & timeline. No crossover characters or locations, and I'm taking liberties with world-building.

_(Just after Dante and Vergil's first fight on the Temen-Ni-Gru)_

Dante stared at the Divinity Statue as his power roiled in his veins. He'd been fine just using his half of his mother's amulet all this time, focusing his Craft through the red Jewel on the chain, but Vergil had stolen the Jewel and Dante's control with it.

"Such an asshole," he muttered. Because Dante _really_ needed that control right now, with his.. demon.. awake and amplifying his aggression. He'd already wanted to kick Vergil's ass until he cried, but wanting to tear his brother's throat out with his teeth for stealing what was Dante's was a bit much. And it was throwing off his moves, too - he'd tried a simple magic-assisted Stinger and nearly crashed into the wall, and the next lunge only took him three feet.

He could sense a powerful demon through the next door - maybe a Devil, because that'd be just his luck - and he needed to fix this, fast. But. He'd never needed his own Jewels before. Never made an Offering, never took his Birthright. Just used the Perfect Amulet, working his way up to Red strength as he grew and letting people assume whatever they wanted.

(It wasn't his fault his and Vergil's Birthright Ceremonies had been scheduled for the day after their mother was killed, or that sponsors weren't lining up for a mercenary teenager.)

It had become a point of pride, that he hadn't needed an Altar or a Statue to tell him how strong he could be.

But.

If it meant being able to fight Vergil again, and _win_ , humbling himself here would be worth it.

Dante took a deep breath, knelt awkwardly before the Statue, and recited the first lines of the Birthright Ceremony.

~ ~ ~

_(A month after Eva's death)_

Vergil waited on the roof of an apartment building, senses alert and the Yamato tied to his back. The sun was down but there were too many pedestrians for his liking. They weren't as immediately harmful as demons, but humans could be troublesome in their own way - insisting that he come inside, that's dangerous, where is his family. ~~Dead and burned, gone, don't think about it.~~

The cathedral across the way was mostly empty this evening, parishioners home for their meals and the clergy at work in the offices. Vergil counted his breaths and the bells rang seven, eight o'clock. 

At half past eight, he wrapped his demon skin around himself and immediately felt warmer. He had taken "new" clothes the last time humans had forced him indoors, to a homeless shelter, but they weren't as ~~comforting~~ comfort _able_ as the feel of his own power. 

Soon, he'd have access to more. Power to keep himself safe, to defend himself, to defeat the demons chasing him. Power to keep himself warm & dry while huddled under a leaking awning.

He stretched his wings, and his vision: there, an open window on the second floor staircase. He worked his way down and across with short glides between buildings. He hadn't had the space to practice proper flight yet, so he used a bit of magic to help him stay aloft, and then to cling to the stone of the cathedral. The angle was bad and he had to squirm through the window, but he was able to drop inside soundlessly, his claws absorbing his impact against the floor.

He returned to human form once he was safely on the landing. He could sense the Priestess and her apprentice below him, their Jewels apparent to the same senses he used to detect demons, but there was a chance there were still magicless landen in the building. No sense causing a panic. 

He crept down the stairs and into the nave, staying to the shadows. He waited a few minutes but there were no people tonight, just rows of seating and a painted, vaulted ceiling. From there it was a short walk to the front and the curtain that covered the stairway down to the dark Altar. 

Vergil had a stray thought that ~~Dante should be with him, they should be descending to their Birthright side by side~~ he should care about the art around him, then shrugged it off. 

He slid behind the curtain and down the stairs, light from his amulet guiding his way.

(Vergil slipped out of the cathedral just before sunrise, Sapphire jewels clutched in his fist.)

**Author's Note:**

> For those unfamiliar with the Black Jewels: [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Jewels) (character list spoils a couple things in the first few books), [TV Tropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/BlackJewels) (series spoilers), [review](https://www.npr.org/2012/07/02/155708777/unicorns-and-witches-and-wild-mood-swings-oh-my). The series itself has zero chill and I love it, though heads up that the canon has a lot of rape-as-drama and if you have squicks/triggers you should look up the contents beforehand. 
> 
> First half of the first chapter was [first posted](https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/402825.html?thread=2376172169#cmt237) on FFA.


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